Yasser Arafat died this morning

So it was announced this morning that Yasser Arafat is officially dead.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20041111/ap_on_re_mi_ea/palestinians_succession
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1099973628375
I'm not sure how I feel about it.

On the one hand, I really believe that he was an obstacle to peace between Israel and Palestine. But on the other hand, now that he's gone, maybe the next Palestinian leader will be even worse? Who knows. Mahmoud Abbas was was one of the first top PLO officials to recognize Israel and he has distanced himself from terror activities, but who knows how he'll actually act now that he has power? This development, coupled with the Israeli disengagement from Gaza, might be a turning point in the peace process. We can only hope and pray.

Oh, and I was planning on actually going to his burial in Ramallah, but since I already have reservations in Tzfat, I don't think I'll be able to make it. I can practically hear my mother's sigh of relief! It might not have been the safest thing in the world, but it is a major historical event, and I would have liked to be there to witness it.

Here's a note to leave you with--for the past week there have been rumors of his death. In fact, we were planning on going to this hippy festival last weekend but cancelled because my friends were worried about the safety of traveling since it was announced last Thursday that he died. Plus, a couple days ago, there were articles talking about how his funeral was planned for Friday...how could they be planning the exact day of a funeral for a man who is still alive? I don't mean to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but it seems pretty likely that Arafat actually died a while ago but it was covered up because of fear of a uprising.... Who knows?